Pakistan’s move to ban access to the gay social networking website Queerpk reflects the conservative society’s inability to accept a “larger world view”, activists say. Keeping with Pakistan’s internet censorship policies, some say the ban is aimed at curbing alternate and progressive discourse.

More than 600 journalists, media workers and social media producers have been killed in the last ten years. To put an end to violence against journalists, the United Nations has developed the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.

As the Cuban government places the powerful ranch owner and popular animal trainer, Miguel Ginarte, under house arrest, an unprecedented number of Cuban artists sign a letter of protest. But where’s the outrage for the treatment of democracy and human rights activists on the island?

A new report — “The Long Shadow of Chinese Censorship: How Chinese Media Restrictions Affect News Outlets around the World” — finds that Chinese officials have directly impeded independent reporting by media based abroad.

“The arrest of [Ali] Anouzla is the latest chapter in a series of harassment cases against uncompromising journalists. Such instances reinforce the impression that media freedom is under attack in the country.” – Hassan Masiky, former advisor to Amnesty International USA.

“My exile began long ago, before I left Venezuela.” Author Israel Centeno – former City of Asylum Pittsburgh exiled writer-in-residence – on how the extreme political polarization and violence that swept through the country in recent years has torn apart relationships and his beloved Caracas.

A collection of photojournalism depicting the everyday lives of Belarusians has led the Belarus Government to withdraw the publishing license of the largest non-state publishing house, Łohvinaŭ. The International Publishers Association is calling on Belarus to revoke the decision and protect the freedom to publish.

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About Sampsonia Way

Sampsonia Way is an online magazine sponsored by City of Asylum/Pittsburgh that seeks to protect and advocate for writers who may be endangered, to educate the public about threats to writers and literary expression, and to create a community in which endangered writers thrive and literary culture is a valued part of life.